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Crystal River high water: an omen and a lesson in resilience
Investigative ArticleThe good news is that the Crystal River is healthy. She winds like a lazy snake through wetlands protected by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, so when excessive rain or snowmelt inundate her environment—as happened during record flooding in early April—the extra water has a place to go. The other good news is that the removal of culverts in three locations under County Road 675 during the past five years has helped the river flow more freely and relieves pressure during high water events. The bad news is that two more culverts remain downstream of The Mill. Those culverts restrict water flow beneath Overbrook Drive. The other bad news is that scientists who study climate change in the Great Lakes region predict more frequent and more intense extreme weather events, including rainstorms.
Folksinger Bill Staines’ music lives on at May 10 show
Business Feature, Local PersonalityIn 1994, a tradition began when the Cedar Tavern hosted folk singer Bill Staines. Over the following years, the troubadour became a regular presence in the area, first at the Cedar Tavern and later at Sleder’s in Traverse City. He gained a loyal following, and his concerts became singalongs that heralded the arrival of spring. Staines performed about 200 shows a year, including those local stops. He appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage and The Good Evening Show. His extensive discography includes more than 20 albums. He died in 2021, but his music lives on. Now many of those loyal concert-goers are resurrecting the songs and the tradition, with “Bill Staines Remembered,” a show featuring his music as a fundraiser for the Benzie Emergency Fund. The concert will take place May 10 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Mills Community House in Benzonia.
Traverse City’s Alluvion hosts The Afterlife of a Massacre: A Live Podcast Event About Rediscovering Family and History
Upcoming EventThe Alluvion on the second floor of Traverse City’s Commongrounds Building will host “The Afterlife of a Massacre: A Live Podcast Event About Rediscovering Family and History” on Friday, May 8, from 6:30-8:30 pm. The conversation will feature Traverse City resident Isiah Smith and Orice Jenkins, long-lost cousins reconnecting through a shared journey of genealogy, history, and identity. Their individual family stories converge around one common thread: uncovering the past to move forward. Glen Arbor Sun editor Jacob Wheeler will moderate the live conversation. This one-time live podcast explores the complex intersection of race, genealogy, and family history. Smith and Jenkins connect through a shared past, including a powerful artifact, Smith’s great-grandfather’s Bill of Sale, and the story of an ancestor freed from slavery in Georgia.
Glen Arbor to celebrate Tree City USA designation, May 9
Business Feature, Local Personality, Upcoming EventIt’s practically in the town’s name. So celebrating trees seemed like a no-brainer to Chris Sack of Glen Arbor. Sack, the co-owner of Great Lakes Tea and Spice with his wife Heather, will be on hand at the the town’s May 9 Arbor Day Celebration, the inaugural celebration of Glen Arbor being named a Tree City USA. “We want to get this off the ground on the right foot,” says Sack. The day will start at 10 a.m. with a tree planting ceremony at the corner of Lake Street and State Street, marking Glen Arbor’s first Arbor Day as a recognized Tree City USA community. It will be followed at 10:30 with a community “tree talk” at the Cherry Public House.
Leelanau Wellness Collective hosts well-being summit
Local Personality, Upcoming EventWhat does a summit look like? Well, two things: One, a gathering of like-minded individuals to learn about and discuss a topic. The other is the top of a mountain. The two come together May 3 in Glen Arbor. The Leelanau Well-Being Summit will take place at and around The Homestead. Organizer Kat Palms says the event will include a vendor marketplace featuring local wellness brands, creatives, and makers, optional ticketed wellness classes led by regional practitioners, and a guided Bayview Trail Ruck with the Leelanau Ruck Club. Oh, and that second definition of summit? That works too, as the event will include a champagne toast at the top of Bay Mountain, the resort’s ski hill, followed by an optional dinner at Nonna’s.
Traverse City immigrant joins hunger strike inside Baldwin ICE facility; local faith leaders pray, fast in solidarity
Investigative Article, Local PersonalitySoon after Lynn’s husband arrived on March 5 at the North Lake Processing Center — the mammoth ICE detention center in Baldwin, Michigan — the food began to make him sick. “I haven’t seen an orange the whole time I’ve been here,” the husband told Lynn, a U.S. citizen and Traverse City resident who shared their family’s story with the Glen Arbor Sun this week. The couple, who have a 2.5-year-old son, worship at Guadalupe Chapel in southeastern Leelanau County, where local clergy held a prayer service and press conference on Monday to illuminate the plight of detainees in federal custody. Lynn’s husband is one of several immigrants detained, as ICE detentions mount in Northern Michigan.
Celebration planned for Michelle Crocker, Michigan’s longest-serving current county clerk
Local Personality, Upcoming EventA celebration is planned to honor the longest-serving county clerk in Michigan presently in office upon the 30th anniversary of her being sworn in. Leelanau County Clerk Michelle Crocker assumed office on May 1, 1996. The event celebrating her service will be held Thursday, April 30, at 5 p.m. in the community meeting center at the Leelanau County government center. Snacks, soft drinks and of course cake will be provided. No county funds will be spent on the event. The Glen Arbor Sun named Crocker among a list of Leelanau County “influencers of 2024” for adeptly overseeing the correction of a vote undercount following the November 2024 election.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore announces antique apple & pear tree pruning workshop
Upcoming EventSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore hosts its popular pruning workshop in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District on Friday, May 1, starting at 10 am. The event will take place at the William and Charlotte Kelderhouse and Peter and Jennie Burfiend farms, which are located five miles north of Glen Arbor along M-22. Signage along the M-22 route to the sites.
Fresh Coast Film Festival Traverse City features Leelanau faces
Upcoming EventThe inaugural Fresh Coast Film Festival: Traverse City, which runs April 30–May 3 at seven venues throughout Traverse City, prominently features Leelanau faces and places. Opening night festivities will play for free at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay, as well as other regional venues, at 7 pm on Thursday night.
Glen Arbor Sun named local news media publication of the year, wins 18 awards from Michigan Press Association’s 2025 Better Newspaper Contest
NewsThe Glen Arbor Sun was named local news media publication of the year and won 18 awards in 11 different categories from the Michigan Press Association’s 2025 Better Newspaper Contest for stories published between August 1, 2024, and July 31, 2025. The awards were unveiled on Thursday, April 23, at MPA conference at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.